This invention relates generally to decorative wheel covers for use on motor vehicles and particularly to those used on trucks and campers having dual wheel rear axial combinations.
The increased popularity of small trucks and campers has resulted in use of such vehicles by a broader range of consumers. While previously supplied to consumers having little or no concern for aesthetic considerations, trucks and campers are now also being purchased and used by consumers having great interest in the appearance of the truck or camper. As a result, there has been increased attention to aesthetic considerations for such small trucks or campers. One aspect of this increased attention to truck and camper appearance has been the use of more decorative and eye appealing treatment of the wheels of the vehicles. There is also a continuing market for products which improve the appearance of large trucks.
In the typical dual wheel truck or camper, a single conventional wheel and suspension is utilized on the front of the vehicle while a quartet of wheels arranged in pairs at each end of the rear axle is utilized in back. Generally, the outer ones of the dual wheel pair have wheel structures best described as "deep-dished" or concave structures which are mounted to a hub or disk brake rotor in which a generally flat wheel mounting surface accommodates a plurality of threaded wheel studs extending outwardly and passing through apertures in the wheels themselves. A plurality of threaded wheel lugs are tightened upon the wheel studs to secure the wheel to the hub or drum. In accordance with generally accepted construction techniques, the wheels define a web portion extending out from the center of the wheel and terminating in an outwardly facing generally U-shaped annular rim which includes a pair of parallel bead walls. The latter receive and form a seal with the side wall beads of a tire. In most wheel constructions, the portion of the wheels extending outward and attached to the U-shaped rim define cooling apertures the purpose of which is to permit the flow of air about the cooling surfaces of the vehicle's braking unit tires. In most instances, the apertures through which the wheel studs pass and into which the wheel lugs extend to secure the wheel to the drum or hub assembly define chamfer surfaces which cooperate with corresponding conical surfaces on the wheel lugs to securely locate, secure and center the wheel with respect to the drum or hub assembly.
This conventional dual wheel structure renders the use of decorative wheel covers of the type commonly used on automobile wheels generally unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. One problem arises out of the greater load generally borne by the wheel assemblies of such trucks and campers. Under such loads, the wheel structures themselves often flex during vehicle motion. Since conventional automotive wheel covers generally include mechanisms well known in the art, to grasp the outer rim surfaces of the wheel such wheel flexing often causes objectionable creaking and squeaking noises. Under extreme flexing, the wheel covers may separate from the wheel entirely and be lost. In addition, conventional decorative wheel covers may also interfere with the operation of the cooling apertures in the wheel structures. Further, the deep concave structure of the outer wheel in a dual wheel configuration such as described above usually includes a protruding center hub structure which extends into the area which would be occupied by such conventional wheel covering devices.
As a result and consequence of the foregoing described problems arising in connection with the use of conventional wheel covers, consumers interested in enhancing the aesthetic appeal of their truck or camper vehicles often have the outer ones of the dual wheel pairs chrome plated. While this, of course, avoids the above described problems inherent in the use of conventional wheel covers, the chroming of the rear wheels is itself subject to several limitations. For example, it is extremely expensive to chrome plate such wheels in part because of their great size. The structure of such wheels typically comprises a wheel web which is separately fabricated and welded to the inner surface of the tire supporting rim. This in turn provides an internal seam adjacent the weld which is not readily plateable using conventional chrome plating operations. In order to overcome this, the chrome plating step is preceded by initially separating the weld. Thereafter, the separate pieces are plated and then rewelded. This process of separating, plating and rewelding the wheel is costly. In addition, problems beyond the additional expense are created in that the welded portion of the wheel tends to be subject to chipping and rusting which, of course, mars the aesthetic appeal of the chromed wheel. Beyond the foregoing problems within the chrome plating process itself, there are additional limitations on using chromed wheels. For example, because chrome plating is costly, it is generally carried forward only on the outer surface. Therefore, the chromed wheel may not be used in any rotational application in which the unplated side is to be exposed. Furthermore, the chrome plating itself is easily damaged particularly during removal or mounting of the chromed wheel. Finally, in their zeal to preserve the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle, consumers often find it necessary or desirable to chrome plate the spare wheel or wheels of the vehicle which, of course, further increases the costs involved.
There remains therefore a need in the art for a decorative wheel cover which provides an effective low cost alternative to chrome wheels without the accompanying problems of noise or loss caused by wheel flexing during vehicle motion.